‘Angry Birds’-themed curriculum coming to Chinese classrooms

Angry Birds are everywhere, and soon that will also include classrooms. Rovio, creator of the best-selling mobile game, is working with Chinese firm 123 Education Development to bring a curriculum concept called Angry Birds Playground to kindergarten-aged students. Created in collaboration with the University of Helsinki, the concept features a heavy emphasis on play, but it’s more than just netting a new high score in Bad Piggies. “It’s a full 360-degree approach to learning, where games are just one part of it,” Rovio’s Sanna Lukander tells The Guardian. “It’s not learning by sitting down and playing with a digital device.”

Few specifics have been revealed, but according to Rovio, the learning concept will aim to teach kids about topics including language, math, music, and art, while encouraging “both physical and social education.” And that will include quite a bit of Angry Birds merchandise — Playground students will have access to branded games, books, toys, and books, along with a “five-string instrument” and an “interactive whiteboard.” Angry Birds Playground will first be used in an early childhood learning centre in Shanghai, though there’s no word on when we can expect a Star Wars-themed spin-off.